59. General Order, October 11, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 93; Muster roll of Captain Jones Company, October 20, 1835, Austin Papers, UT. Austin was in San Felipe as late as October 5, and on that date was writing of volunteers leaving that day and the next. Most likely Jones's company was among them. October 11 is the earliest data that Travis can be placed at Gonzales, and is confirmed by “Reminiscences of Sion Bostwick,” Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 5(October 1901):87.
60. Council of War, October 19, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 18-19.
61. Moses Bryan, Personal Recollections of Stephen F. Austin, 1889, Bryan Papers; Moses Bryan to James and Emily Bryan, October 26, 1835, Stephen Austin Paper, UT; Moses Bryan to Perry, October 26, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 222.
62. Austin to Travis, October 27, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 31. The assumption that Travis himself may have urged the mounted company on Austin derives from his great interest in cavalry as shown in December, with the organization of the regular forces of Texas.
63. Austin, Campaign of 1835, UT; William Pettus Statement, n.d., William B. Travis Audited Military Claims file, Army Papers, Record Group 5926, TXSL.
64. It is not certain that the men of the company did not hold an election and formally choose Travis as their captain, but the fact that Austin ordered Travis to raise the company would suggest to the men that it was Austin's intent that Travis be its commander, and if the men who volunteered had that understanding when they volunteered, no election would have been necessary. Nevertheless, it is, of course, possible that an election was held as a formality.
65. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, October 31, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
66. Ibid.
67. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, November 1, 1835, ibid.
68. The speculation that this October 28 report of a herd was false is supported by the fact that a genuine report of a different herd came in a few days later. Certainly there was a limit to just how many herds of horses Cós would have.
69. Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 341.
70. Michael R. Green, “‘To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World,’” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 91 (April 1988): 489, supports the interpretation of Travis' resignation. Mixon, “Travis,” 180 argues that he resigned because of trouble and complaints within his company.
71. Austin to Travis/Briscoe, November 6, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 334.
72. Stephen L. Hardin, “‘Efficient in the Cause,” in Gerald E. Poyo, ed., Tejano Journey 1770-1850 (Austin, 1996), 49-52; 57; Travis to Burnet, September 1, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 1, 384; Travis statement, February 19, 1836, Felipe Xaimes File, Republic Payments for Service, record Group 304, TXSL.
73. Except where otherwise stated, this account of Travis's expedition comes from Travis to Austin, November 16, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
74. In his forthcoming Alamo Traces: Backtracking the Historiography of the Siege and Storming of the Alamo, Thomas Ricks Lindley cites a statement of two of Travis's volunteers to be found in the Siege of Béxar File, TXSL, which provides this information.
75. Austin to Fannin, November 9, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
76. Austin to Travis, November 11, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 37-38.
77. Bryan, Recollections of Stephen F. Austin, 1889, Bryan Papers; Guy Bryan to Fontaine, June 10, 1890, Fontaine Papers, UT; Jesús F. de la Teja, A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan N. Seguín (Austin, 1991), 78-79.
78. Morphis, Texas, 114; Barker, “Texan Revolutionary Army,” 249.
79. Roll of Brazos Guards, November 21, 1835, Austin Papers, UT.
80. Morning Report of Captain Travis, November 26, 1835, Austin Papers, UT.
81. List of men who have this day volunteered to remain before Béxar, November 24 1835, Austin Papers, UT.
82. Bryan, Recollection of Stephen F. Austin, Bryan Papers, ibid.
83. Judge Edwin Waller, a friend of Travis's, later claimed that when Austin left the Béxar army, he temporarily gave the command to Travis. This must certainly be a false recollection, for no contemporary source mentions such an event, and Austin did not leave until Edward Burleson was firmly in charge. Waller must have confused a correct memory that Travis stayed behind a few days when Austin left, and inadvertently embellished it into a turnover of command. Philip E. Pearson, ed., “Reminiscences of Judge Edwin Waller,” Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 4 (July 1900): 42; Philip E. Pearson, Sketch of the Life of Judge Edwin Waller (Galveston, 1874), 10.
84. Austin to the Consultation, November 18, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL; Report of Special Committee of the Council, November 27, 1835, in William C. Binkley, ed., Official Correspondence of the Texan Revolution, 1835-1836, vol. 1(New York, 1936), 124-25.
85. San Felipe Telegraph and Texas Register, November 21, 1835.
Chapter 19 Bowie 1835-February 2, 1836
1. Bowie and Fannin Report, October 30 [misdated October 20], Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
2. Austin, Account of the Campaign of 1835, UT; Austin to the Convention, October 28, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 33-34; Austin to Dimmit, November 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 298.
3. Austin, Account of the Campaign of 1835, UT.
4. Austin, Account of the Campaign of 1835, Maverick Diary, October 30, 1835, ibid.; San Antonio Daily Express, January 22, 1905.
5. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, October 31, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
6. Ibid.
7. Bowie and Fannin to Austin, October 31, 9 P.M., 1835, ibid.
8. Bowie to Martín Cós, October 31,1835, ibid.
9. Ibid. Though Bowie's surrender demand is dated October 31 from Concepción, it is almost certainly a mistake in dating, and should be November 1, for in his letter of that data to Austin, cited below, he says that “I sent a demand today for a surrender.”
10. Cós to José Tornel, November 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 298-99.
11. Bowie and Fannin to Austin, November 1, 1835, Barker, Austin Papers, vol. 3, 226.
12. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, November 1, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
13. Fannin to Austin, November 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 301.
14. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, November 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 294-95.
15. Bowie to Austin, November 2, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL. Hopewell, Bowie, 104 explains Bowie's resignation as stemming from impatience with Austin's tactics—which may have had some bearing—and then invents an entirely unsubstantiated grievance because Austin was withholding a formal commission out of disapproval of Bowie's speculating interests. This is nonsense. There were no commission in Austin's power to withhold. His own and all other above the rank of captain came by authorization of the permanent council and the consultation. Alwyn Barr, Texans in Revolt (Austin, 1990), 29, offers the much less imaginary, and more reasonable, conclusion that Bowie resigned because he regarded the vote to combine the wings of the army as evidence of unrest in his command, the implication being that he took the vote as a reflection of himself. This is possible, but weakened considerably by the fact that in his resignation Bowie himself goes strongly on the record in favor of joining the forces. No one to date has considered the fact that the only actual position that Bowie had to resign was as an aide, his command of the First Division being by its very nature temporary.
16. Austin to Bowie and Fannin, November 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 294-95.
17. Maverick Diary, November 4, 1835, UT.
18. Ehrenberg, With Milam and Fannin, 43-44, 47-48.
19. Brazoria Texas Republican, October 31, 1835; Journals of the Consultation, 9.
20. Moses A. Bryan, Recollections of Stephen F. Austin, September 25, 1889, Moses A. Bryan Papers, UT.
21. “The Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris,” Quarterly of the Texas State Histo
rical Association 4 (January 1901): 185.
22. Journals of the Consultation, 11.
23. Memorandum, November 5, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 34.
24. Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 338-39, 341.
25. Thoms Rusk to Bowie, November 5, 1836, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2,333-34, Robert B. Irvine to Houston, November 7, 1835, 349-50.
26. Election Return, [November 6], 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 496. This return is improperly dated November 24 by Jenkins, who borrows the error from Gulick, Lamar Papers, vol. 1, 259. The return includes votes from companies such as F. Whitis's [probably Francis White] and Frank Johnson's, that do not appear to have been with the army, on November 2 at least, which is something of a problem, though they could have joined in the next four days. However, Capt. William Scott's company is listed, but Scott was discharged on November 18, and thus would not be exercising command or voting on the 24th, Even more significant, William Wharton appears as voting, yet he left the army November 8, and so did Joseph Wallace (Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 356, 362). Thus it would be impossible for Wallace to have come in second in balloting on November 24, more than two weeks after he departed, while Wharton was in or near Brazoria on November 26, making it clear that he had been away from the army for some time, and therefore could not have been present to vote on November 24 (Wharton to Branch Archer, November 26, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 518-20). Also, though Capt. Robert C. Morris's company of the New Orleans Greys joined the army on November 21, it does not appear on the voting list, arguing further that the document does not reflect the November 24 election (Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 489). Finally, on the very day in question, November 24, Capt. M. R. Goheen resigned command of his company, complaining that it numbered only eighteen men on that date, yet the number of men voting in his company in the misdated document is twenty-two, making it obvious that he is not writing on the same day as the vote (Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 496-97). More evidence could be added, but surely this is enough to establish that the document should be dated November 6 and not November 24.
27. Austin to President of the Consultation, November 8, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 355.
28. Bryan to James Perry, November 7, 1835, Baker, Austin Papers, vol. 3, 244.
29. Hall to Austin, November 18, 1835, Austin Papers, UT.
30. Bowie to Austin, November 6, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL. The document is misdated October 6. but “General Austin's Order Book,” 34, confirms that the resignation took place on November 6. What may be the original, dated October 6, is in the Gilder-Lehrman Collection, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.
31. Speer and Brown, Encyclopedia, 436. It is evident from Austin to the President of the Consultation, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 355, that Richardson did not leave until sometime on November 8, or more likely the next morning. Speer and Brown state that Bowie was with him.
32. Affidavit of Horatio Alsbury, November 7, 1836, Petition of Administrators of James Bowie, Memorial No.451, TXSL.
33. Houston to Fannin, November 13, 1835, Amelia Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, vol. 1 (Austin, 1938-1943), 306. Houston's statement in this letter that he had heard of Bowie assuming command of the army, sending his congratulations, is proof that Bowie had not reached San Felipe as yet, or Houston wound have known otherwise.
34. Journals of the Consultation, 18, 21-22, 36.
35. Peytona Barry statement, May 31, 1903, Walter W. Bowie Papers, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore.
36. Anson Jones, Memoranda and Official Correspondence Relating to the Republic of Texas, Its History and Annexation (New York, 1859), 12-13.
37. George M. Patrick to Moses A. Bryan, August 8, 1878, Texas Veterans Association Papers, UT.
38. The timing of Bowie's arrival is established by the fact that at 3 P.M on November 18 Austin wrote to Henry Smith stating that since noon he had received Patrick's dispatches. Austin to Smith, November 18, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 450.
39. Austin to Edward Burleson, November 14, 1835, “General Austin's Order Book,” 40-41.
40. Austin to Smith, November 18, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 450 Fannin to Houston, November 18, 1835, 458, Hall to Austin, November 18, 1835, 462, Burleson to Austin, November 21, 1835, 480, Philip Sublett to Austin, November 21, 1835, 486, Austin to Perry, November 22, 1835, 487.
41. Patrick to Bryan, August 8, 1878, Texas Veterans Association Papers, UT.
42. The actual record of the voting in this November 24, election seems not to have survived, but it should be reiterated that the result appearing in Jenkins, PTR, vol. 2, 496, and Gulick, Lamar Papers, vol. 1, 259, is erroneously dated November 24, whereas abundant internal and external evidence dates it as November 6.
43. General order November 24, 1835, Austin's Order Book for the Campaign of 1835, Series 4, Austin Papers, UT.
44. William Taylor in Day, Almanac, 1868, 534; De Shields, Tall Men, 47.
45. Hunter, Narrative,25.
46. Thomas Rusk, An Account of the Grass Fight, n.d., Thomas J. Rusk Papers, UT; Edward Burleson to the Provisional Government, November 27, 1835, William H. Jack to Burleson, November 27, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
47. De Shields, Tall Men, 47-48.
48. Rusk, Grass Fight, UT; Yoakum, Texas, vol. 2, 18; Burleson to Provisional Government, November 27, 1835, Army Papers, Record Group 401, TXSL.
49. Brown, Texas, vol. 2, 409.
50. Austin, Account of the Campaign of 1835, UT.
51. Stephen L. Hardin provides important insights into the cultural background of this incident in his chapter “Efficient in the Cause,” in Poyo, Tejano Journey, 68-69.
52. Reminiscences of Samuel C. A. Rogers, August 18, 1891, UT. Being written almost fifty-six years after the fact, this reminiscence may well be exaggerated or inaccurate, but is places the event where Bowie is known to have been at this time.
53. Dimitt to Henry Smith, December 2, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 3, 75-76. The tone and content of Dimitt's letter suggest that Bowie had not yet arrived .
54. San Antonio Daily Express, May 21, 1905; Stiff notes, November 8, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 3, 390.
55. Menchaca, Memoirs, 22.
56. William B. Scates, “Early History of Anahuac,” Day, Almanac, 689. That Bowie returned from Goliad to Béxar, and left there December 17 is confirmed in Johnson to Smith, December 18, 1835, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 3, 244. Brown, Smith, 214-15, also confirms that while Houston believed Bowie to be in Goliad as of December 17, he was in fact in Béxar.
57. Inventory of Notes given for captured property by Volunteer Army, December 19, 1835, Army papers, Record Group 401, TXSL; Peytona Barry statement, May 31, 1903, Walter W. Bowie Paper, Maryland Historical society, Baltimore.
58. Gray, From Virginia to Texas, 111-12.
59. Henry Smith, “Reminiscences of Henry Smith,” Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 14 (July 1910): 50.
60. James W. Robinson to Thomas J. Rusk, December 19, 1835, Thomas J. Rusk Papers, UT; Brown, Smith, 214-15. See Stephen L. Hardin, Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1994), 105ff, for a good general view of the Matamoros expedition.
61. Williams, Animating Pursuits, 68.
62. Houston to Bowie, December 17, 1835, Williams and Barker, Writings, vol. 1, 322-23.
63. Ibid., Houston to Smith, January 30 1836, vol. 1, 347.
64. Houston to Smith, January 6, 1836, Jenkins, PTR, vol. 3, 425-26.
65. Robinson to Rusk, December 19, 1835, Rusk Papers UT.
66. Ham, “Recollections,” UT.
67. Ralph Steen, “Analysis of the Work of the General Council, Provisional Government of Texas, 1835-1836,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 14 (April 1938): 342-43.
68. Houston to Smith, December, 26, 1835, Williams and Barker, Writings, Vol. 1, 325.
69. Journal of the Proceedings of the General Council of the Republic of Texas, Held at San Felipe de Austin, November 14th, 1835 (Houston, 1839), 16
6.
70. Speer and Brown, Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, 435-36, and Brown, Indian Wars, 136, contain variant accounts supposedly deriving from James Robinson, of an impassioned speech of an hour or more by Bowie before the consultation, during which he referred to his dead wife and children, his neglect of his personal affairs on behalf of Texas, and his overweaning desire to serve his new country in the field by raising a regiment. “Pathos, irony, invective, and fiery eloquence” supposedly characterized his speech, as he even recounted his past life before coming to Texas.
The consultation, of course, was not in session at this time. Bowie went before the council, and its minutes give no indication of any impassioned panegyric. Moreover, both of the above accounts say that when Bowie left, he went to San Antonio, whereas in fact he was still in San Felipe for more than a week afterward. Probably Bowie's manner made at least enough impression on Robinson that he remembered Bowie saying something before the council, and the passage of more than fifty years simply embellished in recollection what was probably a mater of fact report into something more. Bowie's known persuasive powers may well have accounted for some of that.
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